feat(linux): add cross-platform PlatformIO, terminal, serial, and Linux packaging

[sunkmechie]

What this PR does

This PR introduces a linu-port to Embedist

Changes

• Made PlatformIO discovery cross-platform by using the user-configured build.platformioPath setting instead of hard-coded Windows paths.
• Added Linux-friendly PlatformIO installation behavior:
  • manual installs are detected correctly
  • distro-managed Python installs fall back to a local venv when needed (ubuntu prevents distro-managed python installs)
• Updated the setup wizard to detect Linux and show Linux-specific hints, including a Recheck button for manual installs.
• Improved Build Settings help text with Linux instructions, including how to point to ~/.platformio/penv/bin/pio.
• Added Linux packaging support with AppImage and .deb targets.
• Added a real Linux serial backend and improved serial handling:
  • native serial monitor
  • DTR handling
  • reconnect-after-flash behavior
• Added Linux terminal support and removed hardcoded Windows shell assumptions where needed.
• Cleaned up a few small warnings and leftover Windows-only UX strings.
• Updated docs to reflect cross-platform setup and Linux support.

Validation

• cargo check passes
• cargo clippy --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml passes
• npm run build passes
• Tested on Ubuntu 24.04
• Manual PlatformIO installs are detected properly
• Native Linux serial reconnect flow works after flashing

Notes / Current limitations

• Serial Monitor reconnect behavior is implemented, but some boards may still need board-specific sensor or sketch setup depending on the project.
• The linux icon file is plain red block.
• Tested on Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS, with an Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense board.

[sunkmechie]

@mandarwagh9 I’ve ported the project to Linux (tested on Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS).

Would love to hear you feedback.

[mandarwagh9]

Thanks for the Linux port work — there is clear value here (PlatformIO path override support, Linux packaging targets, native serial session/reconnect flow, and shell portability).

I did a thorough pass and I’m requesting changes before merge because there are blocking issues:

1. Windows compile break in this branch

• cargo check --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml fails on Windows.
• In src-tauri/src/commands/platformio.rs, install_platformio() calls Linux-only functions unconditionally:
  • calls at :859 (install_platformio_in_venv) and :885 (platformio_venv_pio)
  • these functions are gated with #[cfg(not(windows))] at :244, :261, :266
• This currently causes unresolved symbol errors on Windows builds.

2. No CI signal on the PR branch

• gh pr checks 1 reports no checks.
• For a cross-platform runtime PR touching serial/build/terminal/packaging, we need automated checks before merge.

Non-blocking but important follow-ups:

• package-lock.json still shows 0.37.0 (package-lock.json:3 and :9) while app version is 0.37.1.
• get-platformio.py includes a large opaque embedded payload (DEPENDENCIES blob at get-platformio.py:23) — please justify in PR notes or move installer payload changes to a separate PR for reviewability.

Once the blockers are fixed, I’d be happy to re-review quickly.

[sunkmechie]

Thanks for the thorough review @mandarwagh9.

1. I should have cross-checked the Windows build before pushing. The root cause as you already mentioned is indeed the use of cfg!() in install_platform(). Replacing the runtime if !cfg!(windows) guards with compile-time #[cfg(not(windows))] attributes at the two call-sites (:858 and :885) should fix the issue.

2. I agree. I will add the workflow file.

3. Regarding get-platformio.py. This is the official PlatformIO bootstrap/installer script included verbatim. The DEPENDENCIES blob is upstream's bundled pip/setuptools wheels, allowing the script to bootstrap PlatformIO into an isolated venv without those packages being pre-installed. On Windows pip install platformio works directly so this script isn't invoked, but on Linux (especially Ubuntu 24.04+ which enforces PEP 668 externally-managed-environment restrictions) direct pip installs are blocked by the distro, this script is how we handle that fallback.

   Happy to add a header comment noting the upstream source and version if that helps reviewability.

I will push the fixes shortly and bump up the version in package-lock.json.

I'm converting the PR to draft in the meantime.

[sunkmechie]

Hey, @mandarwagh9

I have made the requested changes and also added a workflow file. I don't have a windows machine so I'm unable to verify the windows side.

Would love to here your thoughts and the CI check run.